Texas Football: Grading the Longhorns' Game vs. Kansas State

For the fourth straight time, the Texas Longhorns lost to the Kansas State Wildcats—this time in a 17-13 heartbreaker Saturday on Senior Night in Austin.

The No. 23 Longhorns (6-4, 3-4) came into the game looking to be more physical, but just as the No. 13 Wildcats (9-2, 6-2) have done consistently throughout the season, they grinded their way to victory, improving to 9-2 on the year.

Texas' defense manhandled the Kansas State offense virtually all night, but hurt by a couple of Collin Klein touchdowns and some controversial decisions by the referees, the Longhorns could not rally to a victory.

The report card is in and the grades are tough, considering the circumstances.

Quarterback

Grade: F

Let's be brutally honest. If Texas gets better quarterback play from either Case McCoy or David Ash, or some combination of both, or somebody else entirely, the Longhorns are not 6-4 staring down their final two games of the season.

Both of Ash's interceptions were on him, and though McCoy had a sliver of brilliance early on when he came into the game, the way he finished virtually dismissed any of his previous accomplishments. After completing four of his first four pass attempts, he went on to throw incompletions on eight of his next 12 attempts.

Against one of the worst pass defenses in the country, Texas simply could not get anything going through the air.

Overall, the two signal-callers combined to go 15-of-32 for 119, a touchdown and two interceptions, a far cry away from where this team needs them to be if Texas is to be successful moving forward.

Running Back

Grade: D+

Even with freshman stars Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron on the field, the two did not provide any of that "umph" that we saw in recent weeks.

The two combined to rush for just 73 yards on 20 carries, and provided little to no explosive plays from the backfield.

In the grand scheme of things, the Longhorns expected to use the run to set the pace, but slow and steady did not win this race for Texas.

Apart from Cody Johnson's 55-yard scamper that resulted in only a field goal, there was little to be excited about from the running backs.

Receivers

Grade: C

Once again, it is tough to fairly grade the receivers because of how poorly the quarterback play has been over the course of the season.

With Texas completing just 15-of-32 pass attempts, mostly due to inaccuracy from the quarterbacks, it is hard to get a gauge on how well the pass catchers are playing.

There may have been just a few times when everything, from pass to catch, went smoothly and most of them came when Case McCoy was under center.

The lone highlight came on a double play-action that left tight end Blaine Irby wide open for a 36-yard pass and catch for a touchdown from McCoy.

Overall, the receivers hauled in 15 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, but when the quarterback play is to fault for most of the evening's shortcomings, it is tough to accurately evaluate the pass catchers.

Offensive Line

Grade: C-

The numbers on the ground tell the story. When the holes are there, Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron can make things happen. Even when the lanes are marginal, both have shown the ability to turn nothing into something.

There just was not a whole lot of positive movement coming from up front, and Texas' inability to rip off large gains on the ground made it all the more obvious.

Man, does this team miss Fozzy Whittaker.

Defensive Line

Grade: A+

If there was one position group—or two, in this instance—that completely dominated the players on the opposite side, it was the defensive line.

The Texas defensive front consistently got a big push at the point of attack and hammered the line of scrimmage with a physicality that was unmatched by virtually any other unit on either team.

On the interior, though the stats do not tell the whole story, the foursome of Kheeston Randall, Chris Whaley, Calvin Howell and Ashton Dorsey created havoc up the gut and really challenged the Kansas State offense to look elsewhere than at the heart of the Texas defense.

On the ends, Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor continue to put up big performances week-in and week-out. The two combined to record 12 tackles (8 for loss, amounting to 22 negative yards), 2.5 sacks and numerous quarterback pressures.

There may not be a duo playing more consistently than these two.

Linebackers

Grade: A+

On senior night, Texas' two senior linebackers played incredibly well, and it is a shame that the Longhorns could not come away with a win.

Emmanuel Acho backed up a career performance with another big game with 12 tackles (2 for loss), a sack and a quarterback pressure.

Keenan Robinson, meanwhile, battled back from a thumb injury to put up 8 tackles (2 for loss) and a huge sack on Collin Klein early in the game.

The Texas defense will miss these two lunch-pail backers next season.

Secondary

Grade: B+

The Texas secondary got off to a great start on its first two defensive plays of the game, as Quandre Diggs, put huge hits on a couple of Kansas State's receivers.

Through much of the game, coverage was solid and run support and pursuit was good, as the Longhorns held the Wildcats to only 83 yards on nine receptions.

Unfortunately, Carrington Byndom gave up a pass interference call in the end zone and a touchdown catch which proved to be the difference in the ball game.

Despite that blemish, however, the Texas defensive backfield proved, once again, to be a valuable asset for a Longhorns unit that stifled a good Kansas State offense.

Special Teams

Grade: D+

For the record, there are 11 players on kickoff coverage that can tackle, and Justin Tucker should not be the one making them. The senior kicker made at least two tackles in coverage, making the rest of the unit look quite incompetent.

Tucker's 48-yard field goal was critical at the time of the conversion and Quandre Diggs' big return could have set up something much more meaningful, but there are still glaring holes in this team's coverage unit.

On three kickoff coverages, the Longhorns gave up an average of 28.7 yards per return, including a 39-yarder right after Tucker nailed his 48-yard field goal.

On the next punt, a 38-yard kick, Kansas State returned the ball to the 50.

This is a unit that has underperformed virtually all season and needs a spark on coverage.

Coaching and Game Plan

Grade: B-

Offensively, the Longhorns left much to be had. There was little to no rhythm, and it seemed Texas was content to chisel away with a running game that was not producing much. And against one of the worst rated pass defenses in the country, the inability to put together a string to plays that could pick up yards through the air is glaring.

Defensively, however, Texas was spot on. On any other night, if the Horns hold their opponent to 120 yards while gaining 310, they win. Too bad this defense has gotten little to no help from the offense in the past eight quarters of play.

The grade is better than what it really is because the defense played extremely well.

Intangibles

Grade: C

This is a bit of a wash. Defensively, countless guys stepped up to put in a solid game when Texas needed it.

On the other hand, there was no suck spark from the offense. True that Fozzy Whittaker and Jaxon Shipley make this offense even more dynamic, but an extra gear or voice or show of leadership has to come from somebody to make the gears turn a little faster and more effectively.

Texas fans should be worried going into the Thanksgiving showdown in College Station.